Although less than seven percent of American workers makeup the construction
industry, approximately 20 percent of all workplace fatalities that occur every
year stem from this industry. To help reduce this statistic, Nationwide
Children's Hospital, Turner Construction Company, the State of Ohio Bureau of
Workers Compensation (BWC) On-Site Consultation Services formed a three-year
OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) in May 2008. The main purpose of the OSP is to
promote safety and health during the Nationwide Children's Replacement Hospital
construction project by reducing and eliminating the top four hazards (falls,
struck-by, electrocution, and caught-in-between/trenching) associated with
injuries and illnesses in construction. The expansion will add more than one
million square feet of clinical and research space to the existing two million
square-foot hospital with the expected project completion date being 2011. When
completed, Nationwide Children's Hospital will be the second largest pediatric
hospital and research center in the country.

One of the main purposes of the OSP is to promote a safe work environment during
the hospital expansion project. One of the strategies for achieving this was to
offer and deliver consistent safety training to labor and management. During the
first year of the OSP, 24 safety training sessions and over 1,200 hours tailored
to the various stages of construction were delivered to 700 employees and
managers. To further support the training initiative, contractor safety
orientations were conducted every two days on the worksite. All employees who
completed the orientation received a hard hat sticker with a control number
which were required to be worn at all times. Failure to display the sticker
resulted in being asked to leave the worksite.

As required by the OSP, monthly meetings (facilitated by Turner and the OSHA
Compliance Assistance Specialist), are held with all participants to help foster
communication and relationship building. During these meetings, results of
conducted self-inspections are reported out by the site safety specialist. The
data obtained from these self-inspections allows for tracking and trending of
hazards by type, contractor, and resolution. All findings are then presented to
promote open communication and dialogue about specific safety concerns.

Over 120 self-inspections were performed during the first year of the OSP which
resulted in over 200 hazards being identified and corrected/abated. This was
made possible in part by two comprehensive walkthroughs conducted by the OSHA
On-site Consultation Program. Throughout the process, Columbus Office
representatives provided technical assistance regarding compliance in areas such
as fall protection, electrical hazards, crane safety, and trenching safety which
enabled the OSP to conduct more comprehensive self-inspections.

Days Away, Restricted, and Transferred (DART) Rate below Bureau of Labor
Statistics' (BLS) National Average for Construction

Also during the first year of the project, the OSP attained a DART rate that was
43 percent below the 2007 BLS national average for the construction industry.
The table below presents the OSP's DART rate compared to the 2007 BLS national
average for construction during the first ten and a half months of the OSP:

Year

Hours

# of DART Cases

DART Rate

OSP Year 1 (8/15/2008 - 6/30/2009)

121,135

1

1.6

BLS Industry National Average (2007)

2.8

Total Percentage Difference

-43% below BLS

Besides a reduced DART rate, additional benefits experienced by the OSP
include: an increased safety and health awareness on the worksite, and improved
relationships between labor, management, and OSHA.

Partnership Objectives:

Key objectives of the OSP include: providing a safe and healthful work
environment for all employees involved in the construction industry and helping
prevent serious accidents and fatalities through increased safety and health
training, implementation of best practices, enhanced safety and health
management systems, and compliance with applicable OSHA standards and
regulation.

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